MITR- MY FRIEND
(World Premiere, 2001, color, 105 minutes)
DATE: Saturday, November 3. TIME: 6 p.m.

SYNOPSIS: "Mitr-My Friend" is centered around a traditional young Indian woman (played by actress-danseuse Shobana) who goes in for an arranged marriage with a well-to-do Indian computer engineer living in California. She lives as a complete housewife in a different cultural setting. In time, when her daughter becomes a demanding teenager, her simmering anxiety of adjusting to new value systems begins to mount, alienating her from both husband and daughter. The film reflects on the dilemma that afflicts many women living in the increasingly transposed and urbanized communities of today.

DIRECTOR: Revathy is a highly regarded actress in South India, with over 16 years of experience in the entertainment industry. Having acted in more than 125 films in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, she has won five 'Best Actress' FilmFare awards for her performances in the Tamil films like"Mann Vasana", "Thevar Magan", the Telugu film "Ankooram", and Hie Malayalam film "Kakothi Kaavil Appoopan Thadigal". She makes her directorial debut with "Mitr-My Friend"

CAST: National award winning actress Shobana stars as Lakshmi the middle aged protagonist of the film. She has won several accolades for her acting. She also teaches classical dance in her school 'Kalarpana' and gives various performances in India and abroad. Delhi based model and actor Nasir Abdullah plays Prithvi, lakshmi's (Shobana) husband, a Silicon Valley technocrat. Debut actress Preeti Vissa plays Divya the teenage daughter ot Prithvi and Lakshmi. Preeti is also a trained classical dancer. She plans to go to college in UCLA. Model and actor Matthew Phillips plays Steve, Lakshmi's (Shobana) neighbor, and friend. He has recently starred in a martial arts film slated for release next year.